New Books: 11 July 2023
Aryan, Stephen: The Judas Blossom (Angry Robot UK 9781915202192, $18.99, 432pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 7/11/2023)
Historical fantasy novel. An imaginative and sprawling epic fantasy reimagining of the Mongol Empire’s invasion of Persia, following the lives and treacherous journeys of four key figures in the heart of war.
Ashing-Giwa, Kemi: The Splinter in the Sky (Simon & Schuster/Saga Press 9781668008478, $27.99, 384pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 7/11/2023)
Science fiction space opera novel. The dust may have just settled in the failed war of conquest between the Holy Vaalbaran Empire and the Ominirish Republic, but the last Emperor’s surrender means little to a lowly scribe like Enitan. All she wants is to quit her day job and expand her fledgling tea business. When her lover is assassinated and her sibling is abducted by Imperial soldiers, Enitan abandons her idyllic plans and weaves her tea tray up through the heart of the Vaalbaran capital. There, she will learn just how far she is willing to go to exact vengeance, free her sibling, and perhaps even secure her homeland’s freedom.
Best, Jessica Mary: Stars, Hide Your Fires (Quirk Books 9781683693512, $18.99, 304pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 7/11/2023)
Young-adult science fiction locked-room mystery novel set on a royal space station. A wanted thief. A murdered emperor. A killer loose on the station.
Blackmoore, Stephen: Cult Classic (Astra House/DAW 9780756417673, $18.00, 288pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 7/11/2023)
Noir urban fantasy novel, ninth in the series about LA necromancer Eric Carter, whose latest task involves hunting the Oracle of Las Vegas, a literal talking head that manipulates time.
Blossom, John: The Last Football Player (self-published 9798223528708, $5.99, 276pp, formats: ebook, 7/14/2023)
Young-adult near-future science fiction novel about teens using robots and AI to try to save football after it is banned for causing injuries and violence.
Cavendish, Catherine: The After-Death of Caroline Rand (Flame Tree Press US 9781787587380, $26.95, 240pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, 7/11/2023)
Haunted house horror novel. At a weekend house party at the ancient Canonbury Manor, Alli is caught between fantasy and reality, past and present, in the life of Caroline Rand, a famous singer from the late sixties, who reportedly killed herself in that house. Alli soon learns that evil infests the once-holy building. A sinister cabal controls it, as it has for centuries. Before long, her fate will be sealed and she will learn about her role in the after-death of Caroline Rand.
Chandrasekera, Vajra: The Saint of Bright Doors (Tordotcom 9781250847386, $27.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, book, audio, 7/11/2023)
Postcolonial fantasy novel. The Saint of Bright Doors sets the high drama of divine revolutionaries and transcendent cults against the mundane struggles of modern life, resulting in a novel that is revelatory and resonant.
Dow, Alechia: A Song of Salvation (Harlequin/Inkyard Press 9781335453723, $19.99, 352pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 7/11/2023)
Young-adult science fiction novel about a reincarnated god and a grumpy pilot on a mission to save a space DJ and stop an intergalactic war.
Martin, George R.R.: George R.R. Martin Presents Wild Cards: Pairing Up (Penguin Random House/Bantam 9780593357866, $28.00, 448pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 7/11/2023)
Original shared-world anthology. Superheroes and villains do battle over the human heart in this anthology featuring all-original stories from a wide range of contributors, all set in the Wild Cards universe, where an alien virus mutates some and grants superpowers to others.
McDowell, Kara: The Prince & the Apocalypse (St. Martin’s/Wednesday Books 9781250873040, $24.00, 320pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, audio, 7/11/2023)
Young-adult near-future science fiction novel. An American teen stranded in London is forced to team up with the British crown prince if she wants to make it back home before the end of the world in this delightfully rompy, high-stakes rom-com.
McKinney, Chris: Eventide, Water City (Soho Crime 9781641294317, $27.99, 384pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 7/11/2023)
Science fiction noir mystery novel set in 2150, the second book in the Water City trilogy. The nameless detective who tracked down Akira’s killer has become a stay-at-home father in the eight years since, but someone thought dead returns and seeks revenge against humanity.
Milas, John: The Militia House (Macmillan/Holt 9781250857064, $26.99, 272pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 7/11/2023)
Contemporary gothic horror novel about soldiers in Afghanistan in 2010 who decide to explore an abandoned Soviet barracks rumored to be haunted.
Ryan, Anthony: The Traitor (Orbit US 9780316430838, $18.99, 576pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 7/11/2023)
Fantasy novel. It’s been a long journey for Alwyn Scribe. Born a bastard and raised an outlaw, he’s now a knight and the most trusted advisor to Lady Evadine Courlain. Together they’ve won countless battles and helped to bring order to a fractured kingdom. Yet Evadine is not the woman Alwyn once knew. As puritanical fury increasingly replaces her benevolent faith, Alwyn begins to question what her true motives really are. As the kingdom braces itself for one final battle, Alwyn’s conscience fights its own war with his heart.
Soria, D.L.: Thief Liar Lady (Penguin Random House UK/Del Rey UK 9781529912463, $27.00, 416pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 7/13/2023)
Fantasy novel inspired by the story of Cinderella. “Happily Ever After” is a total scam, but at least this time the princess is the one controlling the grift—until her true love arrives and threatens to ruin the whole scheme. Intrigue, magic, and wit abound in this Cinderella fairytale reimagining.
Tremblay, Paul: The Beast You Are (HarperCollins/Morrow 9780063069961, $30.00, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 7/11/2023)
Collection of 15 stories. Paul Tremblay has won widespread acclaim for illuminating the dark horrors of the mind in novels and stories that push the boundaries of storytelling itself. The 15 pieces in this brilliant collection, The Beast You Are, are all monsters of a kind, ready to loudly (and lovingly) smash through your head and into your heart.
Vee, Julia & Ken Bebelle: Ebony Gate (Tor 9781250837431, $27.99, 448pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 7/11/2023)
Modern Asian fantasy novel set in San Francisco, the first in the Phoenix Hoard trilogy. Emiko Soong must pay a family blood debt to a shinigami by recovering the Ebony Gate that holds back hungry ghosts.
Woodroe, Alex: Whisperwood (Flame Tree Press UK 9781787588424, $26.99, 304pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, 7/11/2023)
Horror novel. A journey into the wild woods with a character who just needs a break—and the terrible things that stare back at her. When curious nomad Anna hears about Whisperwood, a town that’s not on any maps, that nobody goes to, and nobody comes from, she sees an opportunity to hide from her violent witch-hunting ex.
