New Books: 14 November 2023
Bruno, Rhett C. & Bakutis, T.E.: Mind Burn
(Blackstone Publishing 9798200996421, $27.99, 464pp, formats: hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, audio, 11/14/2023)
Near-future SF techno-thriller/mystery novel. Detective Cowan Soto, a trainee with a cybernetic implant, investigates the first successful mass shooting in 12 years — while trying to hide the fact he’s illegally unbound by behavioral modification protocols himself.
Danan, Rosie: Do Your Worst
(Penguin Random House/Berkley 9780593437148, $17, 352pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 11/14/2023)
Fantasy romance novel. Riley Rhodes’s knack for the supernatural leads to a job breaking the curse on a Scottish castle. But the handsome stranger she has to work with is a disgraced archaeologist who would prefer to get her fired to protect his reputation.
Doctorow, Cory: The Lost Cause
(Tor 9781250865939, $29.99, 368pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 11/14/2023)
Near-future SF novel. Young Americans take part in global efforts to counteract climate change, all the while facing uncertain national politics, and angry senior relatives who resent the changes and think it’s all a giant scam.
Evans, Davinia: Shadow Baron
(Orbit 9780316398237, $19.99, 464pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 11/14/2023)
Fantasy adventure novel, second in the Burnished City trilogy. Siyon Velo, now acknowledged as the Alchemist, has no idea what he’s doing. Now magic is waking up in the Mundane, with mythical creatures turning up around Bezim, and he needs to stop it.
Fay, Constance: Calamity
(Tor/Bramble 9781250330413, $18.99, 320pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 11/14/2023)
SF space enemies-to-lovers romance novel. Temperance Reed just wants to keep her crew together and pay off her growing debts before a new engine technology makes her ship obsolete. Then the second child of a wealthy family joins her for a scouting mission, and Temper can’t help but find him intriguing, despite knowing he has ulterior motives.
Hardaker, Caroline: Mothtown
(Angry Robot 9781915202734, $18.99, 360pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 11/14/2023)
SF novel. David grew up an isolated child, always “protected” from news and TV and outside influences. Only his beloved Grandpa ever shared anything with him, until one day Grandpa disappeared. Now living alone at age 26 David receives a mysterious package with instructions not to leave Earth. Illustrated by Chris Riddell.
Harris, Joanne: Mother, Maiden, Crone
(Orion UK/Gollancz 9781399614009, $9.99, 512pp, formats: ebook, audio, 11/16/2023)
Collection of three award-winning fantasy novellas, plus three original stories, reimagining traditional British folktales. Fully illustrated by Bonnie Helen Hawkins, with a new introduction by Harris.
Henry, Christina: Good Girls Don’t Die
(Penguin Random House/Berkley 9780593638194, $17, 313pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 11/14/2023)
Horror novel. Three women all find themselves trapped in different horror tropes out of books: one stuck in a life not hers, another on a trip to a remote cabin, a third in a maze with only hours to escape — and somehow they’re all related. Includes a readers guide.
Kawaguchi, Toshikazu: Before We Say Goodbye
(Harlequin/Hanover Square 9781335009111, $21.99, 240pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 11/14/2023)
Fantasy time-travel novel, fourth in the series begun in Before the Coffee Gets Cold, about a Japanese coffee shop where time travel is briefly possible, told in four segments following various customers. Translated by Geoffrey Trousselot from the Japanese.
Neill, Chloe: Cold Curses
(Penguin Random House/Berkley 9780593549827, $16.99, 384pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 11/14/2023)
Urban fantasy/vampire novel, fifth in the Heirs of Chicagoland series. Elisa, the only vampire ever born, works with her friends to repair the damaged magical wards around Chicago, as unwelcome creatures slip through and a magical turf war heats up.
Rothfuss, Patrick: The Narrow Road Between Desires
(Astra House/DAW 9780756419172, $26, 240pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 11/14/2023)
Standalone fantasy novella in the world of the Kingkiller Chronicles, an expansion of story “The Lightning Tree”, about the fae master trader Bast, on the day when he mistakenly accepts a gift. Illustrated by Nate Taylor.
Sayers, Constance: The Star and the Strange Moon
(Orbit US/Redhook 9780316493741, $30, 440pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 11/14/2023)
Gothic historical fantasy novel. Christopher Kent, a film student in 2007 investigates one of Hollywood’s greatest mysteries, the disappearance of actress Gemma Turner in 1968 — and risks getting trapped in the same horror film she did.
Shinn, Sharon: Whispering Wood
(Fairwood Press 9781958880135, $19.99, 304pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 11/14/2023)
Fantasy romance novel. Valentina reluctantly leaves the forest to see her brother being crowned king. When he convinces her to extend her stay, she is drawn into the whirl of courtly activity, including the reappearance of her childhood best friend, now a rogue embarking on a dangerous venture.
Shvartsman, Alex, ed.: The Digital Aesthete: Human Musings on the Intersection of Art and AI
(UFO Publishing & Caezik SF & Fantasy 9781647101107, $19.99, 300pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 11/14/2023)
Anthology of 17 stories about human-AI collaboration, by authors from around the world including Vajra Chandrasekera, Tina Conolly, Marina & Sergey Dyachenko, Ken Liu, and Adrian Tchaikovsky. Edited by Alex Shvartsman.
Swenson, Patrick: The Ultra Long Goodbye
(Fairwood Press 9781958880159, $19.99, 284pp, formats: trade paperback, hardcover, ebook, 11/14/2023)
SF noir mystery novel, the third featuring detective Dave Crowell. Crowell and his partner take on a case to help a retired Envoy find someone from Crowell’s immediate past. But the information he uncovers could cause political unrest — or lead to finding Crowell’s missing dad.
Van Dyke, Megan: Captive of the Stolen Empire
(City Owl 9781648983665, $5.99, 382pp, formats: ebook, 11/14/2023)
Fantasy romance novel. When Emperor Ryszard takes the city-state of Sorrena, Ilya, the heir of Sorrena, decides to seduce the Emperor’s first-in-command to get information to help fight the empire.
Wells, Martha: System Collapse
(Tordotcom 9781250826978, $21.99, 256pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 11/14/2023)
SF novel, eighth book in the Murderbot Diaries series. Murderbot, ART, and their human teams try to keep the Barish-Estranza corporation from legally enslaving desperate people from a failing colony world.
