New Books 21 November 23
Adams, Gillian Bronte: Of Sea and Smoke
(Enclave Escape 9798886050783, $26.99, 512pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 11/21/2023)
Young-adult fantasy novel, second in The Fireborn Epic series. Rafi Tetrani reluctantly takes on his dead brother’s responsibilities as the empire’s lost heir, and vows to fight the usurper on the throne. A stolen shipload of magical horses he finds may offer just the edge he will need.
Greenberger, Robert: Sand and Secrets
(eSpec/NeoParadoxa 9781949691931, $13.95, 108pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 11/21/2023)
Historical fantasy novella, the 17th in eSpec’s Systema Paradoxa series of novellas about cryptids. Ella Grigiani is invited on an expedition to the Gobi Desert, searching for an elusive and deadly creature out of legend. Illustrated by Jason Whitley.
King, Stephen & Furth, Robin, et al.: The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three Omnibus
(Simon & Schuster/Gallery 13 9781668021231, $99.99, 464pp, formats: hardcover, 11/21/2023)
Single-volume omnibus edition includes the complete graphic novel series The Drawing of the Three: The Prisoner; House of Cards; The Lady of Shadows; and Bitter Medicine. Originally published by Marvel Comics in single-issue form, creatively overseen by Stephen King, drawn by Piotr Kowalski and Jonathan Marks, adapted by Stephen King expert Robin Furth, and scripted by New York Times bestselling author Peter David.
Kritzer, Naomi: Liberty’s Daughter
(Fairwood Press 9781958880166, $18.99, 262pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 11/21/2023)
Near-future SF novel. Growing up on a libertarian sea-stead, Beck Garrison starts taking odd jobs for pocket money. She’s hired by a debt slave to track down the woman’s missing sister, and learns things that she did not expect — things some people want to keep hidden.
McBay, Aric: Inversion
(AK Press/Black Dawn 9781849355049, $17, 240pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, 11/21/2023)
SF novel. Militaristic invaders arrive on a peaceful planet continually renewed by a wave of fire that forces its collectivist inhabitants to keep moving to stay ahead of it. This is part of AK Press’s Black Dawn series.
Morgan, Louisa: The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird
(Orbit US/Redhook 9780316628808, $30, 384pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 11/21/2023)
Fantasy novel. Psychologist Beatrice Bird has been haunted by ghosts since childhood. With her ability growing more intense, she flees to a remote island inhabited only by some nuns and their cows. There, as the ghosts take on an even darker edge, Beatrice meets someone who might be helped by her gift.
Okungbowa, Suyi Davies: Warrior of the Wind
(Orbit US 9780316428972, $19.99, 496pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 11/21/2023)
Epic fantasy novel, the second book in the Nameless Republic trilogy inspired by pre-colonial West Africa. Traumatized by their escape from Bassa, Lilong and Danso have found safety in a vagabond colony on the edge of the emperor’s control. But time is running out on their refuge. A new bounty makes every person a threat, and whispers of magic have roused those eager for their own power.
Parker, K.J.: Saevus Corax Captures the Castle
(Orbit US 9780316668910, $18.99, 352pp, formats: trade paperback, ebook, audio, 11/21/2023)
Fantasy novel, the second book in the Corax series. Battlefield salvager Saevus Corax has to capture a castle to keep his employees from being killed, and his siegecraft tactics are anything but conventional.
Roberts, Nora: Inheritance
(St. Martin’s 9781250288325, $30, 432pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 11/21/2023)
Gothic romance novel, the first in the Lost Bride trilogy. Graphic designer Sonya McTavish inherits a sprawling Victorian house from an uncle she never heard of, with the stipulation she must live there for three years. The lawyer handling the estate acknowledges that the place is a little haunted, but it turns out that Sonya has inherited a centuries-old curse along with the house.
Sanderson, Brandon: Defiant
(Penguin Random House/Delacorte 9780593309711, $21.99, 432pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, audio, 11/21/2023)
Young-adult SF space opera novel, fourth in the Skyward series. Spensa made it out of the Nowhere, changed forever by what she saw in the space between the stars. She came face to face with the Delvers, and finally got answers to the questions she’s had about her own strange Cytonic gifts. But The Superiority didn’t stop fighting for galactic dominance while she was gone.
Sarna, Anita & Krupecka, Karolina: The Witcher Official Cookbook
(Penguin Random House/Ten Speed Press 9781984860934, $35, 256pp, formats: hardcover, ebook, 11/21/2023)
Non-fiction, a cookbook tie-in to the Witcher series (books, games, and TV) by Andrzej Sapkowski, offering 80 recipes ranging from tavern fare to feasts.
